Alexi Hawley’s popular drama series The Rookie recently returned with its seventh season and fans were taken by surprise with an unexpected twist. Episode 3 of the latest season brought back Jasmine Mathews as Rachel Hall following her exit in Season 2.
Due to her history with Eric Winter’s Tim Bradford, her return sparked speculation about a possible love triangle between Tim, Lucy, and Rachel. However, the show’s creator clarified that her return was never intended to set up a love triangle.
The Rookie showrunner clarified Jasmine Mathews’ return to the drama series
Episode 3 of The Rookie Season 7 brought back memories from the early days of the show with the return of Jasmine Mathews’ Rachel Hall. The character was initially introduced in Season 2 as Lucy’s college friend, who later starts dating Tim Bradford.By the season finale, Rachel had to leave for New York and the couple decided to try a long-distance relationship. However, she was never mentioned again in the series, until now.
Meanwhile, Tim (Eric Winter) moved on and developed a romantic relationship with Lucy Chen (Melissa O’Neil). Nevertheless, the beloved ‘Chenford’ couple broke up in Season 6.
And Rachel’s return amid their split has sparked speculations of a potential love triangle involving the three characters. However, showrunner Alexi Hawley has clarified that it was never meant to set up such a storyline.
“With Tim and Lucy broken up, it felt like a good opportunity to do that — but not to do the expected, which is to make it a love triangle,” Hawley told TV Line in a recent interview.
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He further explained, “I thought that would ultimately be manipulative to the fans in a way that I don’t like to be,” suggesting that a love triangle would have felt forced and too predictable.
However, Hawley also hinted that Rachel’s return would likely have a meaningful impact on the story, teasing more developments in upcoming episodes.
The Rookie showrunner teases what to expect from Rachel’s return to the show
Further in his conversation with TV Line, Alexi Hawley also offered insights on how he plans to further explore Rachel Hall’s return in The Rookie Season 7. Episode 2 revealed that Rachel came back from New York after losing her job.
“But as somebody who ultimately ended up ghosting the two of them [Tim and good friend Lucy], is there more there to find out in later episodes? There is,” Hawley said, hinting that instead of a love triangle, fans could see a new dynamic unfold.
He continued, “So that was really what it was about. It seemed like a good opportunity to stir the pot a bit, but also to get Jasmine back on the show.” Talking about her return, Hawley also revealed why Jasmine Mathews had to leave after Season 2.
Jasmine [Mathews], who plays Rachel, was such a great addition to the show, but she was super busy, so part of the reason that Rachel went away [at the end of Season 2], at least for us, was to try and get ahead of Jasmine being unavailable to us.
However, with Lucy and Tim now broken up, Hawley saw an opportunity to bring Rachel back into the story. Currently, her character is staying with Lucy, though the episode revealed that she had previously ghosted both Lucy and Tim. As the showrunner suggested, Rachel could likely return in the upcoming episodes of the show.
